Five bikers charged in Clinton Township road rage assault
CLINTON TOWNSHIP – Five motorcyclists have been charged in a road rage incident on Labor Day weekend and more criminal charges may be filed once the investigation is completed.
Police Chief Thomas A. DeRosa announced the charges Thursday after a nearly three-month investigation by township police, which included information from Hunterdon County Crime Stoppers.
At about 10:12 a.m. Sept. 3, township police went to Cokesbury Road on a report of an assault in progress.
Police learned that a group of motorcyclists had dragged the victim, a 62-year-old man, from his vehicle, assaulted him and stole his cellphone after a near collision between a vehicle and multiple motorcyclists., DeRosa said.
While driving to Cokesbury Road, Patrolman William Musacchio saw the motorcycles fleeing the scene and attempted to stop them on Cokesbury Road in his marked patrol unit.
But the motorcycles failed to stop and fled at a high rate of speed on Route 22 West, the chief said.
Sgt. Sean Ross then saw the motorcycles, approximately 13 in total, on the highway as they approached Petticoat Lane and pursued them onto westbound Route 78 until they exited onto Route 173 in Union Township. Ross then chose to stop the pursuit.
The five motorcyclists charged are Moshe Lew, 24, of Brooklyn, Bryan Florez, 25, of Staten Island, Kumarsarju Jadav, 30, of Staten Island, Morkus Abdelmaseh 26, of Staten Island, and Jason Kish, 25, of Simpsonville, South Carolina.
Florez, Jadav, Abdelmaseh and Kish were charged with second-degree eluding in a motor vehicle and received numerous traffic summonses, including reckless driving, speeding, improper passing, driving with a suspended driver’s license and improper display of registration.
Lew received 16 traffic summonses.
Second-degree crimes in New Jersey carry the possibility of five to 10 years in state prison.
DeRosa said the investigation is ongoing and more criminal charges are under review.
Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-321-0010, going online to the Hunterdon County Crime Stoppers website or through the free “P3 Tips” smartphone app. All tips are anonymous and will be kept confidential.
Email: mdeak@mycentraljersey.com
Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Five bikers charged in Clinton Township NJ road rage assault
